Lake Michigan’s Sport Fishery Going Strong

BY JERRY PABST

Each year the Great Lakes Fishery Commission receives a report from the Lakes Committee on the status of the fishery in all five of the Great Lakes. The report results from the combined efforts of the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, and the state DNRs. We will focus here on the report as it concerns the Lake Michigan fishery.

While the report analyses 22 separate species of fish found in Lake Michigan, we will turn our attention only to those that are targeted by sport fishermen.

The estimated salmon/trout harvest lakewide during the 2007 season was 10.8 million pounds, a drop-off of 200,000 pounds from 2006 levels. No attempt was made to determine the number of fish taken, but rather the total weight.

Biologists believe the weight difference between 2006 and 2007 harvest resulted from a weakening in the forage base in some areas of the lake. The fish were still there, but they were simply smaller.

The 2007 chinook salmon catch weighed in at 8.3 million pounds, nearly 1 million pounds lighter than the year before. Again, this is thought to represent a decrease in the forage base in some areas of the lake.

The lakewide coho salmon catch rose by 986,000 pounds over the 2006 catch, but still lagged behind the long-term average of 1.2 million pounds. As the forage base weakens, and coho stocking by Michigan decreases, expect the coho catch to remain well below average numbers for the next few seasons.

Rainbow, or steelhead trout, recorded 656,000 pounds which represented an increase over 2006 estimates, yet noticeably below long term averages.

The 232,000 pounds of brown trout showed a decrease from 2006 levels, but since most brown trout are taken by shore anglers during winter months, they often are not represented in DNR creel counts. Still, the recorded catch remains 50% below the 23 year average.

The 562,000 pounds of lake trout recorded showed a dramatic drop from the record high levels of 1998, which represented only 5.2% of the sportfish catch. The highest lake trout catch occurred in 1998 when 2.7 million pounds were taken. The figures for lake trout are misleading, however, since most trollers target the “beautiful gray fish” only when no other trout or salmon are available. Over the past few years there have been plenty of salmon around most ports.

Yellow perch continue to be the predominant species targeted by inshore fishermen, both from shore and from boats. Since daily bag limits were introduced in 1997, yellow perch harvested have averaged 400,000 pounds. In 2007, anglers took home 480,000 pounds of delicious eating. Perch from the 1998 and 2002 year classes made up the majority of the fish caught. It is hoped that fish from the 2003, 2004, and 2005 classes will add to the fishery going forward.

In certain areas of the lake the walleye fishery has maintained sustainable populations of 200,000 to 400,000 pounds. In 2007 it is estimated 244,000 pounds of walleye were taken from Lake Michigan.

From a commercial standpoint, the whitefish and bloater chub are the predominant species targeted. The whitefish catch declined for the second year in a row to 4.3 million pounds, while the chub catch, at 565,000 pounds, settled at its lowest level in 23 years. Sixty-two thousand pounds of yellow perch were netted from Green Bay waters, where the perch population has remained strong.

The 2007 stocking levels remained substantial, although chinook numbers were lowered by 25% as a result of low forage base expectations. Michigan also decreased its coho contribution by 800,000 due to budget problems, but that condition is expected to be ended next year. Lakewide stocking levels looked like this:

chinook salmon: 3.137 mil.

coho salmon: 2.485 mil.

lake trout: 2.576 mil.

rainbow trout: 1.788 mil.

brown trout: 1.643 mil.

2008 stocking programs by the four Lake Michigan states, and the U.S. F&WS were similar to those implemented in 2007.

Considering that nature is dynamic, ever changing, this Lake Michigan fishing summary is not a discouraging one. Alewife populations go up, and they go down, and fortunes of the fish that depend on them for sustenance goes with them. Stocking programs may vary depending of budgetary restrictions or diseases in a hatchery, but over time it all seems to even out.

I guess the bottom line is, go fishing.

Brown trout, while hard to locate, are becoming a larger part of the Lake Michigan fishery in Illinois waters. In early spring both shore and boat anglers are landing more of these beautiful fish than ever before. Photo by Jerry Pabst.